Exposure levels in anatomy and pathology laboratories are still
extremely high, often exceeding the 0.5 mg/m3 limit (Table 8), due
primarily to the evaporation of formalin used for the preservation
of tissues and specimens. One study found that even when anatomy
laboratories were not in use, minimum formaldehyde concentrations
were still above 0.25 mg/m3, with a few extreme instances measuring
between 13.01 and 20.94 mg/m3 (Zhang et al., 2007d). In Shanghai,
the average formaldehyde concentration in 11 hospital pathology
laboratories was 1.60 mg/m3, with one case measuring as high as
5.84 mg/m3 (Fan et al., 2006).